In a joyous service, McCormick Theological Seminary inaugurates and installs its 12th president

LOUISVILLE — On Friday, McCormick Theological Seminary inaugurated and installed a native of Chicago, the Rev. Dr. Maisha I. Handy, as its 12th president. She is the institution’s first African American president and its second female leader. Handy is the founding pastor of Rize Community Church in Atlanta and served the past 24 years at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, most recently as interim president and Professor of Religion and Education.

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Friday’s joyous three-hour installation, which was also livestreamed, took place in the church where Handy grew up, First Baptist Congregational Church of Chicago. A Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Handy called It “a joy” to “foster meaningful connections and co-create a vision with a community’s enduring history of 195+ years.”

“We are actively moving into our future,” she said, “led by God’s Spirit, through collaborative storytelling and strategic planning.”

Storytelling was on display throughout the service. A highlight was an enstooling ritual by Dr. Itihari Touré, Senior Director for Major Grants for Program Development at McCormick Theological Seminary, and the Rev. Dr. Melva Sampson, Teaching Professor of Preaching and Practical Theology at the Wake Forest University School of Divinity.

The stool came from the Asante people of West Africa. Touré called it “a scared symbol of leadership.”

The two scholars also led a purpling ceremony in which they poured red and blue liquid into a bowl to produce purple, “the color of royalty, courage and visionary leadership,” they said. “The ritual of purpling honors the lineage of womanist scholars who came before us, stand alongside us and will come after us. … We are being called into a holy disturbance that will ultimately bring about greater justice and liberation.”

Before Handy took her place on the stool, she was wrapped in purple indigenous fabric. “By seating yourself, you embody the practice of purpling,” Touré and Sampson told Handy, “changing the red of transformative vision with the blue of nurturing stability. May the blue energy protect you, uphold you and steady you, such that you lovingly guide McCormick and all our community toward deeper bonds of friendship.”

“May the red energy disrupt you when necessary, speak truth without fear and serve as a beacon of change that draws us ever closer to liberation. As you sit upon this stool, we charge you to protect the tradition, even while you propel us into our futures. Nurture us with compassion even while you name the injustices. Tend to the community even while you bring the fire of creativity and transformation. May you feel the hands of the ancestral women … and all the womanist leaders pressed gently but firmly on your shoulder.”

“As you take your place in the lineage of McCormick leadership, may your leadership restore, balance, dismantle oppressive systems and call all of you” they told those assembled, “to a shared journey of ministry.”

David H. Crawford, who preceded Handy as McCormick’s president, offered a prayer, reminding Handy “there will be days when grace and gratitude seem in short supply, days you will wonder, why did I take this job? At McCormick, we know to trust the journey. Gracious God, give President Handy the perseverance to allow her to trust the journey. May the work fit the rhythms of [Handy’s] soul. May you have the gift of encouragement,” he told Handy, “building in them the confidence to follow the call.”

“We have been a seminary of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) since 1829, and a progressive leader in the Reformed tradition,” said the Rev. Amy Pagliarella, Chair of the seminary’s Board of Trustees. “We are ecumenical, urban and cross-cultural.” Pagliarella read the constitutional questions to Handy, then led her in the oath of office. After that, Pagliarella gave the crowd the words they’d come to hear: “Dr. Handy, child of God, daughter of this congregation, today it is an honor and a privilege to add an additional title to your name. It is an honor and a privilege for us to officially recognize you as President Handy, the 12th president of McCormick Theological Seminary.” Those in attendance stood and applauded.

“My charge to the community is a simple one,” said the Rev. Dr. Anna Case-Winters, Professor of Theology at the seminary. “Recognize that we have a long history of remarkable leadership. Our presidents have been extraordinary,” she said. “There are very big shoes to fill, and even in ordinary times, this would be an awesome undertaking. These times are far from ordinary, and things may get worse before they get better.”

“The work of justice, which we consistently rally around, has become a lot harder,” Case-Winters said. “We can’t put it all on the shoulders of one person. We must all do our part. … We here now commit ourselves to do what we can where are with the power we have. We are glad to all pull together, and we celebrate the good leadership we have. Thanks be to God.”

Scriptures read included Habakkuk 2:1-4 and Luke 4:14-22. The service was marked by vibrant music. At one point, Handy’s mother, Clara Handy-Griffin, offered up Albert Hay Malotte’s “The Lord’s Prayer.” Ayodele Drum & Dance helped Handy find her place up front during an energetic rhythmic procession.

“Now that I am duly installed, first I say, ‘thank you,’” Handy said. “I’m grateful you have come from near and far to stand with us in this moment.” Then Handy introduced her longtime friend, Dr. Stacey Floyd-Thomas, the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of Ethics and Society at the Vanderbilt University Divinity School. Floyd-Thomas called the inaugural address “HerSTORY.”

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“Beloved, today we celebrate your wise choice to choose not only a meritorious colleague, a multi-talented creator, and a model citizen,” Floyd-Thomas said. “We are reminded of the indispensable role Black women have played in shaping our nation’s history and ongoing struggle for justice.”

Womanist HerSTORY “provides a powerful genealogy of resistance to making enslaved women, civil rights activists, Black power advocates, as well as Womanist preachers, pastors, practitioners, professors and presidents who are leading us in the pathways of contemporary social justice,” Floyd-Thomas said. “We’ve been standing on the shoulders of Black women who are giants … great women who put the “extra” on the ordinary and added “super” to our natural.”

According to Floyd-Thomas, it’s only recently that scholars “especially in the realm of religion and theology have begun recognizing the pivotal role of Black women in the ongoing struggle for racial justice, gender equality, true democracy, dignity and human flourishing. But truth be told, to fulfill this calling to show up, step up, stand up and speak up — while facing the current tidal wave of trauma and drama sweeping the nation — is where we see the true meaning of HerSTORY taking shape.”

“If we are commanded and compelled in the fullness of God’s calling to move seamlessly across the cosmic divide between Chronos and Kairos, to create intentional impactful change in this world,” Floyd-Thomas said, “the enterprise of HerSTORY teaches us what is possible when the right woman meets the right moment. I’m here to tell you, McCormick, that you have just such a transformational figure in your midst in the person of your president, the Rev. Dr. Maisha I. Handy.”

Watch the three-hour service here.